A prominent figure in the media industry met a tragic end by being buried alive in a 6ft container during a kidnapping incident that went horribly wrong.
Stephen Small, a well-known businessman, fell victim to a kidnapping orchestrated by a small-time drug dealer named Danny Edwards. Edwards planned to demand a $1 million ransom from Small’s family, but the situation took a deadly turn.
At the time of the abduction, Stephen, aged 30, was set to inherit a substantial fortune as the son of Burrell L. Small, a key figure in the broadcasting company Mid America Media Group. The company owned multiple radio stations, TV channels, and was the publisher of The Daily Journal of Kankakee.
Edwards, posing as a police officer, tricked Stephen on September 2, 1987, and then contacted Stephen’s wife, Nancy, to demand the ransom. Despite several ransom calls to the family, they struggled to decipher the instructions left by the kidnappers.
Desperate to keep Small captive, Edwards buried him in a small box in a forest in Kankakee, Illinois, providing basic necessities to sustain him. Nancy Rish, coerced by Edwards through threats and abuse, was also involved in the heinous act.
Years later, due to changes in the law, Rish was released from prison after proving she was a victim of intimate partner violence. Edwards initially received a death sentence for Small’s murder, later commuted to a life term.
Rish’s defense team argued that she was manipulated and threatened by Edwards, leading her to inadvertently participate in the crime. The court reduced Rish’s sentences for murder and kidnapping by 50% to be served concurrently.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed that the Small family did not oppose the ruling, and Rish was released in February 2022, placed on parole for three years.